Contents

Prelude

Following his defeat in the Second War for Armageddon at the hands of CommissarYarrick, Ghazghkull marshaled his forces, licked his wounds, and gathered his strength for a fresh offensive. The Warboss was not deterred in the slightest by his defeat and understood that "to destroy your foe you must first know him." For Ghazghkull, the war for Armageddon had been a way to learn how the Imperium would react and deal with a major invasion. Thus it went that Ghagzhkull began preparations for an even greater invasion of Armageddon.[2b]

Over the next few years, Ghazghkull allied with another prominent Ork Warboss, Nazdreg Ug Urdgrub, known for having the best Mekboyz in the galaxy in his employ. Nazdreg's Mekboyz were particularly well known for their tellyporta technology, something Ghazghkull coveted deeply. Thus Ghazghkull struck a deal with Nazdreg, helping him against the Dark Angels during the Battle of Piscina IV in exchange for the secrets of the Tellyporta.[2b]

Ghazghkull left Piscina for the Golgotha system, intending to seize the resource-rich world and convert it into a giant factory to fuel his second great Waaagh! However, he was unaware that Yarrick had located him and was in hot pursuit. Easily overrunning the planet's defenses, in the ensuing Battle of Golgotha Ghazghkull eventually crushed Yarrick when his forces arrived, capturing the Commissar himself. However in the end the Warboss decided to let his arch-rival go as he was "too much fun."[2b]

Early Invasion

The invasion began with a massive Ork fleet arriving in the Armageddon Sector, a fleet which outnumbered the Imperial defenders six to one. Ork Kill Kroozers made suicidal rushes against the Imperial Navy blockade of the planet and despite their skill the Imperial ships found themselves unable to turn back the Orkish tide. Worse yet, monitor stations were warning that three more massive Ork fleets were inbound to the Armageddon system. The combined fleets of Ghazghkull and his allies soon constituted the largest fleet ever to assault a world of the Imperium and Battlefleet Armageddon found itself outnumbered six to one.[4a]

Six weeks after arriving in the Armageddon System, hundreds of OrkRoks smashed into the surface of Armageddon. Millions were killed as Hades Hive - the site of Ghazghkull's previous defeat - was completely annihilated by an asteroid launched from an orbiting Ork Space Hulk in an act of vengeance against Yarrick.[4a] Soon after, wave after wave of Ork landers descended upon the world, and though Imperial Navy fighters and ground defense lasers took a terrible toll upon the invaders there were simply too many incoming Orks to stop.[4a] Massive amounts of Orks also besieged Hive Helsreach, where the Black Templars under ReclusiarchGrimaldus made a courageous defense, exacting a heavy toll on the greenskins for any ground taken.[7]

Meanwhile, the true purpose of the descending Ork Roks became apparent. Slowing their descent with powerful force fields, the Roks landed on Armageddon and from them surged not only innumerable Orks but also an endless stream of heavy equipment teleported in directly from orbit. The plan was made possible only by Tellyporta technology designed by Mek BoyOrkimedes, whom Ghazghkull had in his employ.[2a] Soon Titans and Gargants beyond number were engaged in the action and took a bitter toll upon both sides in the fighting.[2c] In addition Feral Orks, born on the world shortly after the Second War for Armageddon, emerged from the equatorial jungles and spread like wildfire throughout the hives.[4a]

Hive Acheron then fell to the Orks without warning, this time captured by treachery from within. It was soon revealed that the infamous war criminal Herman von Strab, the former Governor of Armageddon whose leadership during the Second War had proven so disastrously inept, had overthrown the hive in cooperation with Ghazghkll and now ruled it as its overlord.[4a]

Imperial Counter Attack

Again it was left to CommissarYarrick to defend Armageddon from Ghazghkull's forces. He did this by forging the PDF and Armageddon Regiments into a perfectly disciplined fighting force, an 'unstoppable machine of iron and steel'. When Ghazghkull heard that his old nemesis was once again in the fray he redoubled his efforts and tried to break the back of Armageddon.[Needs Citation]

Yarrick also received much help from various Space Marine Chapters, as they knew all too well the strategic value of Armageddon.[2c] The Space Marines began to establish battle lines and Von Strab was hunted down and killed by a unit of Penal Legion troopers known as the Last Chancers. The situation improved dramatically for the Imperial forces as the Season of Fire broke upon Armageddon. Temperatures outside the Hives soared until even the Orks were forced inside. Faced with this new situation, a stalemate has been reached.[4b]

Ghattana Bay: The Battle for Gate IX

It was at Ghattana Bay, the location of an important water processing plant, that saw the largest Dreadnought vs Dreadnought confrontation of the war. The Ork attack had by this point stalled and the Warboss Judrog Irontoof committed every Deff Dread and Killa Kan in his arsenal to a single attack against the Space Marine lines weakened by an earlier Kommando attack. As the defenders were battered by Ork weaponry, Judrog's Dreadnought charge breached the defenses around Ghattana Bay but as they approached Gate IX, they were surprised to find a line of seventeen Venerable Dreadnoughts armed with lascannons, autocannons, and missile launchers blocking their path. At their head was Brother Damos of the Angels Porphyr, who led a devastating first salvo against the first wave of Ork Dreads. Equipped with better weapons, the Ork machines initially took heavy losses but eventually reached the Space Marine lines, though the four hundred meter advance cost them seventeen Dreadnoughts. Nonetheless the Orks still came at the Space Marines, hurling themselves against Gate IX.[8]

Flight was not the plan however, Brother Damos and his Dreadnoughts were ready for Irontoof's Orks and poured heavy fire from their ramparts and decimating the tightly packed Ork Dreadnought formation. As the Ork dreadnoughts became bottlenecked, the Space Marine Dreadnoughts cut into them in an assault led by Brother Weylands. Though not a single Dreadnought fled, the Ork machines were ultimately destroyed. Judrog's bold but unsupported attack had failed. With his final reserves now destroyed, Judrog was forced to withdraw in the face of heavy Thunderhawk air attacks. But while the Space Marines had emerged victorious, they had lost seven of their seventeen ancient dreadnoughts.[8]

The War Continues

Becoming bored by the growing stalemate, Ghazghkull quickly ran out of patience. He left the conquest of Armageddon to his generals and went in search of something more entertaining. When word of this reached Yarrick he too left Armageddon with a strike force of Black Templars, determined to hunt down Ghazghkull and end things between them once and for all.[4b] Yarrick and the Black Templars were able to corner Ghazghkull at the Battle of Haunted Gulf, but the Warboss was able to elude his foes yet again.

However there are still countless Orks infesting Armageddon and the war rages to this day. For the Orks, the war has become known as the "Big Scrap" and more Orks arrive to the system with each day as word spreads.[4b] The cost of the war is measured in human lives, and the death toll spirals towards the billions. The Imperials know one thing, however: whatever the cost, Armageddon must not fall.[2c]